A Date to Remember
by sudoku
Summary: Stephen tried to give Christine a date she would remember. She would remember it all right with the constant emergency calls for Stephen to save the world, not to mention the presence of the cloak. No, she was not jealous of the cloak that certainly had seen more actions than her. Part 8 of "The Adventures of Stephen Strange and His Super Awesome Cloak of Levitation".
1. They owed me some favors

-Non native speaker, unbetaed so please kindly point out any mistakes.  
-Some minor swear words.  
-If you recognize anything here, that means they don't belong to me.  
-This story makes some fun to some pop culture references. They were not meant to be insults.

* * *

Christine eyed the menu. They all looked great. It'd be hard to decide. "Are you sure you can afford this?"

Stephen gave a lopsided grin. "I'm sure. This place is really quite inexpensive. Besides, I helped the owner once with their goblin problem. I've also put some spells around the perimeter so any supernatural creatures would think twice—well, if they could think but I doubt it-before stepping inside here. Luis, the owner, said I could eat here for free forever but I refused. He then said he'd just charge the minimum whenever I come here."

As usual with Stephen, his answer actually raised more questions. She asked the easiest one. "Goblins? I thought they only exist in fantasy fiction."

He raised his eyebrows. "Where do you think the fantasy writers got their ideas from?"

Christine tried to swallow a sudden big lump in her throat. "Are you saying that most creatures in fantasy are real?"

"Well, some but not all. If you're unsure, just ask me. I hope you won't encounter any of them. 99% of population usually don't." He squeezed her hands. "Don't worry about it. There are sorcerers all over the world who handle them on regular basis."

"Including you?"

He nodded. "That's part of the job description. I didn't exactly sign up for it."

She eyed his gym bag that he put under the table. "Does that bag contain your emergency world-saving kit?"

He smiled. "That's why I love working with you. You don't miss anything. Yes, my cloak and other emergency kits are in there."

"Sophie is here?!" She didn't really want to vie for his attention tonight. Perhaps coming here was a mistake.

 _It was all Stephen's fault, as usual. As she walked out of the hospital after her shift yesterday, Stephen was there waiting for her. Luckily he managed to be inconspicuous this time as he wore a blue shirt and black pants. No robes and cloak in sight._

 _"It's good to see you here." He gave his most charming smile._

 _She rolled her eyes. "Given I work here, sure. What do you want now, Stephen? Any injured friend this time?"_

 _He had the decency to blush. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't barge in here twice asking for your help. That's the reason I come here. I want to ask you out for dinner tomorrow night to thank you properly for saving my life and also for helping me, not only at those times, but in general."_

 _"I'm busy tomorrow night."_

 _"No, you aren't. I've checked your shifts. No, I didn't use any magic to check. I just called Susan to check your schedule."_

 _She needed to have a word with Susan, the head nurse, tomorrow. She shouldn't give her schedule to strangers_ — _except of course Stephen was not a stranger. Some people might still help him. He could be very persuasive if he wanted to_ — _like what he was doing now. She could never say no to his pleading eyes. People would call them puppy dog eyes but Stephen was definitely not a puppy_ — _more like an overgrown sloth._

 _She sighed dramatically that could give Emma Stone a run for her money. Well, she learned from the best_ — _the guy standing right in front of her. "Fine, I'll go to have dinner with you tomorrow."_

 _"I'll pick you up at seven. It'll be a date to remember."_

So here she was at a Thai restaurant in Columbus Circle. She wore her green full length dress. She chose it because it kept her warm—it had nothing to do that Stephen once complimented her when she wore it—nope. Despite that, she still needed to compete with that sentient cloak of his.

"Yes, I need her in case of emergency. I'm 99% sure she won't be needed tonight. I think even creatures from other dimensions need to take a day off on Sunday nights. Terrorizing other dimensions could be so draining." He then squeezed her hands again reassuringly. "Don't worry. You're the only girl in my mind tonight. I'm starving. You should order for both of us."

He seemed to be still uncomfortable to talk about feelings. Well, the old Stephen wouldn't reassure her. He also wouldn't let her pick the menu. So he certainly had changed slightly for the better. She still couldn't stand the chance not to tease him. It was a payback for calling her wrong for the last five years. "Are you sure? Are you not going to criticize my choices? Not authentic Thai enough? Wrong order so it'd destroy our palates?"

He dipped his head slightly and lowered his voice so only she could hear when he spoke. "Yes, I admit I've been an ass. I'm trying to be better now. Now please pick the damn menu."

She nodded. The waiter suddenly materialized in front of her. She ordered coconut water for both of them. A lot of her colleagues were sworn by it. She doubted whether it was a super drink as they made it out to be but at least it was natural. She also ordered _Tom Yum Soup_ and _Thai Spinach Bites_ for starters, _Thai Green Chicken Curry_ for her and _Pad Thai_ for him, for dessert she ordered _Mango Pudding_. She really didn't want him to spend too much despite his insistence.

They toasted their coconut water while they waited for the starters.

Well, it certainly was refreshing. Even Stephen seemed to approve but again he had always had an eclectic taste.

"No cultish robes for tonight?" She always couldn't stand silence between them for too long.

He smiled. "No, not for tonight. I'm trying to make an effort here."

"I certainly appreciate it." He dressed in a three piece suit tonight. The black suit and his blue shirt underneath certainly meshed well. They also didn't look cheap. "Aren't your clothes expensive?"

"Well, they'd be but the store owner at the Fifth Avenue owed me a favour."

Christine opened her eyes wide in mock surprise. "Another goblin problem?"

He smiled as he caught on. "Nah, just the usual _Tsukumogami_."

"Suki-origami?"

"No, _Tsukumogami_. It's Japanese."

"You don't say." She really should stop with her sarcasm but she couldn't.

He then pulled out his StarkPhone. "Friday, could you show Doctor Palmer some information about _Tsukumogami_?"

"I certainly can, Doctor Strange," replied a female voice from his phone.

He showed the results to her. For her, Friday was like a more advanced Google. Friday only showed only results that matched and also gave very thorough descriptions. Well, she certainly learned something new every day. Not that she needed to know more mythical creatures. She certainly couldn't bring her knowledge about _Tsukumogami_ into a conversation among her friends.

"Interesting is certainly one way to say it. So StarkPhone and Stark's AI? Don't tell me Tony Stark also owes you some favors?"

"As a matter of fact, he does. You'd be surprised how many creatures outside this realm he managed to attract and insult." Christine rolled her eyes. "Yes, yes, you would say he is just like me but I actually don't seek them out actively. Back to the StarkPhone, he just gave it away to lure people to join the Avengers. The AI comes with the territory."

She quirked her eyebrows. "Are you an Avenger now?"

"No, I'm already busy as it's. I'm just a consultant for their more magical encounters. Oh, thank the Visanthi that the starters are here."

That was a hint that he didn't want to talk about it anymore. Christine didn't want to pry. Besides, she wanted to know more about how he was coping being a cult member after the accident, not his saving-the-world business.

They were just having a few spoons of the soup when suddenly Stephen's StarkPhone rang. He tried to ignore it but there was suddenly a female voice which she recognized as Friday saying, "Doctor Strange, you're needed in Portland now. There are five dragons wreaking havocs in a forest."

Stephen sighed, "I just need one night, one night of peace. Is that too hard to ask?" He retrieved Sophie from his bag. "I'll be back soon, can't promise you how much time. Just finish the starters for me, please." He opened a portal behind him.

Christine suspected that was the reason he chose the corner seat with a divider, it was not just for privacy but also for an emergency like this. "Please stay safe." He nodded, stepped into the portal, and disappeared.

Christine decided that she needed to order some wine to survive tonight's date.

* * *

 **Notes:**

-This story actually started from a prompt by RawringRyu in AO3. I'd mention the prompt at the end of the story because that'd be a spoiler.  
-Any feedback and comments are welcome. Thanks to "I'm Here For The Flufff" for some corrections.


	2. A dragon is my personal jeweler

-Warning: Unbetaed, more "crack treated seriously", questionable science, more popular culture references.

* * *

The waiter poured the white wine as soon as her glass was empty. It had been the second time tonight. She needed to tell Stephen to give him a good tip.

Speaking of the devil, suddenly there was a golden circle at the corner where Stephen disappeared. He stepped into the circle, collapsed into his chair immediately, and took a deep breath. The waiter paid no attention to the commotion. It seemed a man materialized out of thin air was a common occurrence for him—perhaps that was the actual reason because Stephen frequented this restaurant. She shook her head. She overthought everything as usual. She turned her attention to Stephen instead.

He looked exhausted and apparently thirsty as he finished his glass of coconut water in one gulp. For good measure, he poured himself some wine and drank it. He had black smudges all over his face and hands. She even smelled some burnt hair. His suit was in tatters and singed in a lot of places. It couldn't be salvaged— except perhaps by magic? She needed to ask him whether he could do that next time. The only thing intact seemed to be Sophie. That cloak certainly knew how to take care of herself and protect Stephen from the worst of the fire.

Despite being disheveled and dirty, Stephen seemed to grow more attractive. How was it possible? Christine never knew that she was attracted to bad boys. Perhaps it was her healer nature who wanted to fix something. She shook her head to dislodge any unsavory thoughts. "Are you OK?"

"I'm fine. I'm not sure if I could fix my suit. I really need to learn the fixing spells from Wong." There was a manic gleam in his eyes. "Perhaps I could _borrow_ some books from his library."

"You look terrible." There was no use to feed his oversized ego and he really needed to go back to his impeccable self before she started to question her sanity. "Perhaps you need to go to the bathroom to clean up."

He sighed. "I guess I'd better. I'm certainly not the Mother of Dragons."

She giggled at the image. "No, you're not. Besides, I doubt you could pull off the braided light blonde look effortlessly."

He gave her a sour look before going to the bathroom.

The waiter rematerialized and served the main courses.

He returned after washing up his face. He had taken off his suit. In her eyes, he still looked great in his blue shirt, even with Sophie fastened on his shoulders. Well, at least it was not the bad boy look anymore.

"Oh dinner, I'm famished." He quickly sat down. As soon as he lifted his chopsticks, he realized that he hadn't asked her to start. "Where's my manner? Let's eat together. Before I forget, I have something for you."

He produced something covered in a black cloth for her. She opened it and it was a big unpolished diamond. She was speechless. After a few seconds, she realized that her jaw had dropped. "How did you get it?"

"You're welcome. You can make a pendant out of it." He shrugged nonchalantly. "The heat of the fire gave me the idea. I remember that a normal stone in high temperature and pressure could turn into a diamond. So it's worth a try."

"So let me get this straight. When normal people see dragons, they'd run, or for your cult members, they'd banish the dragons immediately. But you decided to make them your personal jewelers."

"Eh, what good is a dragon anyway is we can't utilize its high temperature? It took me a few tries as I needed to find the right spells for creating the right pressure for the stones."

She facepalmed. "Are you telling me that instead of banishing the dragons immediately, you experimented with your spells? Do you know how dangerous it was?"

He looked like a little boy who had been scolded by his mom for giving her an A instead of an A+. "Sophie was there to protect me. She flew me around so I wouldn't get burned. I was dirty and slightly singed because of my insistence to get close to the dragons for creating the perfect diamond. It was not her fault at all." The cloak's collars patted his shoulders to comfort him.

Christine, not to be outdone by a cloak, took his right hand in her hands. She noticed that his hands were shaking. "Stephen, you don't have to do this. You don't need to bring me any gift to apologize for being called away. I know it's your life now. You're more valuable alive to me than dead. Do you get that? And I really appreciate the thought."

He nodded sheepishly. That was a new look on him. The old Stephen was never sheepish.

"I'm famished. Shall we start?"

She nodded.

As if on cue, as soon as he was about to put the Pad Thai in his mouth, his StarkPhone rang again. "Doctor Strange, you're needed in Amsterdam. There are three succubi there wreaking havoc." He groaned as he put down his chopsticks.

Christine nodded understandingly. "Just go. I'll ask them to keep the Pad Thai warm so you can finish it when you get back. Come back immediately as soon as you banish them. Don't you dare to conduct more experiments and don't bring anymore gifts."

He nodded grimly. He stood up, created another portal, stepped into it, and disappeared with his cloak flapping majestically behind him.

Christine thought that ordering another bottle of wine was a great idea as the night would be very long indeed.

* * *

Notes:

-Thanks to KarToon12 for the suggestion of Stephen giving a gift (hence making the story longer than planned :-) ) and also the mention of a pendant.  
-How could I resist putting the "Mother of the Dragons" reference when there were dragons present?  
-Yes, I intended it to be a two-shot but it's likely to be a three-shot. The prompt will be published at the end of the story which is hopefully the next chapter :)  
-I intend to publish it on the weekend but it's March 8th. So, "Happy International Women Day" for the female readers and a good Wednesday for the male readers (if there is any).

-Thanks to unknownnobody32 for pointing out some mistakes.  
-Feedback and comments are welcome.


	3. I'm a newbie sorcerer

Unbetaed, more questionable science, some sexual references but nothing explicit hence the increased rating, mention of sexual preferences but again nothing explicit, more "crack treated seriously"

* * *

Upon her fourth glasses of wine, Christine started to question her life choices, especially about the men she chose to date. Well, not really men, more like a man, singular. Her not-really-a-boyfriend-but-also-not-merely-a-casual-friend status with Stephen was quite confusing. He seemed to have changed a lot in some ways but not in others. He was still that idiotic guy who put a lot of faiths in his skills and liked to experiment. However, he seemed to be kinder and nicer.

It was better to think of something else such as what succubi were. She had some vague ideas about them. After some Google research (well, she had no luxury of Stark's AI), she regretted ever having researched them in the first place. She wondered whether it was wise to send Stephen to deal with creatures that got their energies from having intercourse with men. She was pretty certain that he might resist their seduction but did he have the skills to banish them? He was relatively new in this cult thing. Didn't they have someone else to take care of such things? Perhaps that Wong guy? She needed to ask Stephen how they assigned who got to deal with what. If he got back intact, he had been gone for 15 minutes. Well, he did have his cloak to help him. She wondered what happened to her that she put so much faith in a piece of garment to protect someone she lo-… cared for. Her brain added helpfully, "Well, Stephen Strange happened to you". She really needed to tell her brain who was boss.

It might be just easier to think about what to do with the diamond. She could ask a jeweler (not the dragon variety) to have it cut. She could make a pendant out of it but she could sell the rest. She could give the money to Stephen. She had a great income working in ER and she lived frugally. The same couldn't really be said for him. He couldn't just live on others' charity forever.

The now quite familiar golden circle reappeared and Stephen stepped into it and quickly collapsed into his chair. She looked at her watch, 19 minutes since he left. He just drank a glass of water, which she had the wisdom to pre-order for him, and took another deep long breath. His shirt was untucked and both his shirt and pants were in complete disarray and were torn in some places. Somehow, it still made him look much more attractive. In fact a lot more, she felt like jumping his bones right there and then.

He seemed to realize her predatory look. "I'll be right back. Their damn pheromones are all over me." He quickly retrieved a new shirt and pants from his bag and ran to the restroom.

She breathed a sigh of relief. OK, that explained her sudden urges. She hadn't gone hormonal— well, at least not her hormones.

He returned wearing a white tailored shirt and jeans. She raised her eyebrows. He understood her silent question. He sat down and drank more water. After a few long breaths, he finally said, "Yes, these clothes were also from the same shop I got my suits from. Where's my dinner?"

The waiter materialized and put Mango Pudding in front of Christine. He told Stephen, "I'll heat up your dinner right away, sir."

Stephen nodded. The waiter disappeared. "I really need to give him a good tip."

Well, Stephen had always been a good tipper. Christine was glad that at least he didn't change in this aspect. "How does it go with the succubus?"

"Succubi, there are three of them so it's plural." He realized that Christine rolled her eyes. "Oh, you knew and you were just testing whether I still like to correct people. It went as well as it could. I didn't try any experiment, just quickly banished them."

"Then why did it take 19 minutes?" It was his turn to raise his eyebrows. She turned bright red because that meant she was timing him. She tried to shrug nonchalantly. The keyword was _try_ but she didn't know whether it had the desired effect. Perhaps not because Stephen gave her a smug look. "Well, I was bored. And why were your clothes in disarray?"

"Do you know what succubi do?"

"Yes, I just googled them. Wouldn't it be safer if a gay male sorcerer or a straight female sorceress deals with them? Or perhaps your friend Wong?"

Stephen chuckled. "Are you calling Wong gay? Not that there is anything wrong with it of course. I just happened to know that he has a lovely fiancée. And no, we don't assign tasks based on someone's sexual preferences. That'd be quite troublesome and sound homophobic. No, I'm not calling you that. It's just weird if new students were asked to fill in some forms in Kamar-Taj and one of the questions were 'What is your sexual preference?' Then that means we're truly a cult." He noticed Christine's glare so he quickly raised both shaky hands to shield himself. "No, I'm not delaying to answer. You know how I like to talk and explain stuff. I wasn't attracted to any of them. I used a disillusion spell so I could see their real forms." He shuddered. "If only others could see, then there'd be no victims. I guess that's the whole point of a succubus."

"Then why were your clothes in great disarray and why were you covered in pheromones?"

"I think the succubi don't care whether people are attracted to them. They just want to get what they want. Well, they didn't get any if that's what you were worried about." He shuddered again. "They use pheromones to attract their victims. I guess those pheromones somehow got splattered all over me when they clawed at my clothes. It was really hard to conjure spells to banish them with such proximity. I managed to do that when Sophie lifted me off the ground. So I apologize for the delay." Sophie seemed to perk up at the mention and lifted her collars much higher than usual.

Christine couldn't help but laugh. "Are you saying that you're regularly saved by Sophie? What kind of sorcerer are you?"

"Unfortunately, yes." He grinned. Sophie nodded by moving her collars up and down. "At least you call me a sorcerer this time. Well, I guess I'm a newbie. Give me a break. I'm supposed to be having a date with the woman that I lo-…like to spend time with. I also haven't got any dinner."

The waiter materialized and put the warm Pad Thai in front of him and poured some wine on her glass.

She was about to say she didn't need it anymore when Friday announced, "Doctor Strange, your assistance is required in Los Angeles because there are 10 sparkling vampires."

Christine just pushed a new empty glass for the waiter to fill in. She was impressed that his face remained impassive despite what he heard. He asked Stephen, "Do you want me to take back this plate, sir?"

The sorcerer shook his head. "That won't be necessary, Albert. I'll be back really soon. I hate sparkling vampires."

"So do I, sir. Good luck!" With that, he disappeared again.

She had to ask. "Sparkling vampires like in those Twilight series?"

He nodded grimly. "Where do you think Stephanie Meyer got the idea?"

Before Stephen disappeared through now a too familiar golden circle, Christine quickly said, "Be careful, Stephen. Come back quickly and don't lose any more clothing."

He nodded before stepping into the circle.

Christine would try not to drink any wine until he returned safely. Afterward, she'd have some stern words with Friday or whoever assigned these tasks to Stephen. Three times in a row was a bit too much and the poor guy hadn't had any food.

* * *

 **Notes:**

-Yes, I know it's supposed to be one-shot that have grown each chapter. I promise the next chapter will be the last because poor Stephen and Christine really need a break. I also really need to answer the prompt anyway.  
-I apologize to the Twilight fans. They were not against the books, they just thought vampires shouldn't sparkle.  
-I know that's not how pheromones work. It's just "artistic license".

-Thanks to Unknownobody32 for a quick correction.  
-Feedback and comments are welcome.


	4. I'm not proud about what I need to eat

Warning: Slight whump, angst, inaccurate medical description and treatment, and terrible jokes.

* * *

Christine was just about to google how Ms Meyer could possibly encounter sparkly vampires when a familiar golden circle appeared at the corner and Stephen stepped out of the circle. She looked at the time. So he was only gone for 4 minutes. That was quite a record for him.

He immediately slumped onto the table, buried his head, and closed his eyes. After a few seconds, he raised his head, drew a deep breath, and ordered, "Friday, if there is any more magical emergency, could you please direct it to Wong and the other sorcerers? In my contact list, I've initialized them with the word sorcerer before their names so it should be easy for you to find. I need to replenish my energy first."

"Duly noted, Doctor Strange. Do you need Wong to bring your replenishment?"

"That's fine. I have it with me."

"Enjoy your date, Doctor Strange."

Christine raised her eyebrows about what _nourishment_ they talked about. Only now she could take note of his appearance. Stephen did follow her advices. He didn't lose any clothing this time—he managed to gain some splotches of sparkles on his face, body, and clothing. At least Sophie was still sparkle-free, she presumed no thanks to him. She had given up the notion that she could find him unattractive tonight, even with sparkles, so the problem was definitely with her, not him.

She covered her nervousness with laughter. "I thought you hate sparkling vampires but why are you sparkling now?"

He looked at his hands and clothes. His disgusted expression was priceless. "I don't know how. Must be the side effect of my spell." He did some intricate hand movements. In a millisecond, all the sparkles were gone. "Better now?"

"Much better." Now she wouldn't need to worry about her hormones. "How could you remove the sparkles so fast?"

"I have a personal history with vampires so I learned everything about them. Out of all those vampires, what I despise the most is the sparkling variety because that's just another level of weird even for me. I invented my own spell to banish them. I guess I could name them…" He couldn't finish his sentence as he gripped both sides of the table, closed his eyes, and rested his head on it.

She noticed that he had grown very pale, not Edward Cullen kind of pale, but Stephen Strange after-the-accident kind of pale. He was also trembling quite violently. She took his pulse at the neck, at least they were steady.

Sophie quickly detached herself from him and attached herself at Christine's hand. One corner of the cloak pointed at his bag under the table.

She didn't speak cloak so she needed to ask someone. "Friday, I think Doctor Strange is experiencing some extreme fatigue and the cloak is trying to ask me to get something from his bag. Do you know what it is?"

"I believe it's the replenishment, Doctor Palmer. He has used too much magic in one night and is paying the price."

She quickly bent down to retrieve his bag. "Do you know how it looks like?"

"I believe it will be a bottle of purple liquid with eyeballs and tentacles."

She scrunched her forehead when she found the bottle. She was an ER doctor, so she didn't get disgusted easily, but this replenishment was too much. She opened the bottle expecting some weird smell but she didn't smell any.

Sophie quickly picked up a straw and put it in the bottle. Christine put the bottle next to Stephen and directed the straw to his mouth. "Just sip it slowly." Sophie flew back to him and her collars massaged his shoulders.

He made an effort to open his mouth and followed her direction. After a few sips, he could lift his body off the table and picked the bottle himself.

She saw that his skin color return slowly. He also didn't tremble as violently as before anymore.

Suddenly he realized that she was looking at him. He stopped drinking. "You don't have to look at this. I'm not proud of it. Should I turn my back to finish this or should I transfigure this drink to look like something else?"

"Stephen, you idiot! Using too much magic is the cause of your current predicament. I've seen the bottle so there is no use to hide it from me. Just finish it."

After a few more sips, all the liquid was gone. Thankfully, for his sake, he didn't need to eat the eyeballs and tentacles. He seemed to have returned to his normal self, at least health-wise. He quickly put the bottle inside his bag. "I'm sorry you need to see this. I didn't plan to drink it in front of you."

"Do you plan to drink it when you step away with some excuse?"

He nodded.

"For a genius with an eidetic memory, you're quite an idiot. I've known you for many years. I know how you could be super rude and annoying to others. But I still remain a friend to you. You shouldn't be ashamed of what you need to eat in order to survive. Besides, you also do that not out of some selfish reasons but to save the world. In fact, you should be proud of it."

"I don't think needing to eat some super weird stuff is something to be proud of. It's my weakness."

"No, it's not. It's the sacrifice you choose to make. Do you have to drink them every day?"

"No, I don't. I can usually recharge myself by meditation but I haven't got the chance." He grinned so at least he was back to his normal self. "I was too busy entertaining you."

"No, you weren't. You were too busy banishing dragons, succubi, and sparkling vampires." She gave a slight shudder at the last one. "I wish I was joking when I said that. I don't think anyone would believe me when I said what I'd to go through going on a date with you. But I accept the fact that it's your new life now. Isn't that the point of going on a date? To know more about your date? I still wish I didn't know all those creatures really exist."

He nodded grimly. "Yes, that's why I tried to protect you from the truth. But the universe seemed to conspire against our first date."

She liked the fact that he mentioned the word "first", which meant there would be subsequent ones. "Well, at least the food here is good. Speaking of food, do you still want your Pad Thai or is your magical food enough?"

"The food here is to die for." He noticed her glare so quickly amended. "Not literally of course."

As if on cue, Albert materialized with his Pad Thai again. "Your dinner, sir. I hope you get to enjoy it this time."

"Thank you, Albert. I hope so too."

After Albert left, he started to pick up his chopsticks.

Christine said, "If there is any more magical being starting to appear while you're eating, I'm coming with you to give them a piece of my mind." She glared at his phone. Thankfully—for his phone sake as she might drown it if it rang—it remained silence.

"Christine, you know so much more about my new life now. Would you like to tell me more about you?"

"Well, it's less exciting than yours without the dragons and succubi. Just my work, my sisters, and some friends." She then told him about her new routine after he was gone. She also told him that she took up painting classes as well. He just listened attentively while eating. It was so unlike him. He used to talk mostly about his work and his idea for new procedures.

When he finished his Pad Thai, Albert quickly materialized with his Mango Pudding. She suspected that either Albert had a secret superpower or this room had cameras. She didn't know which possibility she liked less.

After he finished eating, Albert poured Thai Iced Coffee for them. He said it was on the house because Stephen created the spell to banish sparkling vampires.

She wondered how Albert knew that but Stephen just had that smile as if he knew something about Albert she didn't. "I think it's my turn to ask some questions."

"Sure as long as it's not some secrets I need to keep."

"Is Albert a sorcerer or does he have a superpower?"

He smiled. "That's not really for me to say."

She gritted her teeth. "Is he the owner? He couldn't just decide to give you the coffee if he is merely the waiter."

"Yes. Well, it belongs to him and his wife, who is from Thailand. I asked him not to wait on us but he said he wanted to see the special lady friend I was going to bring because I always came alone."

She felt her cheeks growing warm. "Are you just saying that to make me happy?"

"No. I'm sure Albert could come right away to answer your question if you want to."

"That's fine. Who made the replenishment for you? I don't think you can cook. I'm surprised that your Sanctum hasn't caught on fire."

"I should be insulted by your insinuation. I know some spells to extinguish fire. I can cook simple things like heating soup without burning the kitchen." He looked at her raised eyebrows. "Fine, Wong prepares it for me. He recommends me to eat it every day but I refuse. I only eat it for emergency."

"Will there be any side effects consuming them?"

"Some scrolls said that it could kill me in the long run but some said it wouldn't. Well, cholesterol kills but we don't see people stop consuming it. So yeah, we don't know. Other sorcerers seem to be fine with the _magical_ food."

She closed her eyes as she felt the prickling of tears behind her eyelids. She drew a few deep breaths and opened her eyes. She held his hands. "Oh, Stephen. You've changed so much."

He squeezed her hands reassuringly. "Don't worry. I won't be defeated by some food. Any other questions?"

She rolled her eyes as she knew he purposefully missed her point. "You said you had a personal history with vampires. How?"

He cast his gaze downward. "It's a long story. I don't want to talk about it, at least not now. I'll when I'm ready."

"I understand. OK, the last one. What's the name of your anti sparkling vampire spell?"

He cheered up at that. "Are you sure you want to hear this? You always hate any names I picked."

"It couldn't be that bad, could it?" She regretted as soon as she said it. This was the man well known for his addiction for alliteration.

"Strange's Sparkling Sanguis Sucker Scorn Spell." He beamed. Sophie seemed to shimmer with excitement.

She groaned. Something never changed. Well, at least some of his traits had changed for the better. "Keep making stupids names like that and see if you get to see any action tonight."

He perked up. "What actions? Do you know there are more inter-dimensional activities somewhere?"

"No, in my apartment, you idiot." His eyes seemed to brighten up. Before he got the wrong idea, she quickly added. "For Netflix of course. And it's pure Netflix, not Netflix and Chill."

"Sure. Don't need to get so defensive. You're way scarier than those dragons."

She glared at him.

He raised both hands defensively. "I know, I know. I just dug a bigger hole for myself. I should just stop talking. What're we watching?"

"Stranger Things."

"Do you pick a show with my name on it? That's so cute."

"No, because it's a great show. It's not all about you."

He seemed to sober up at her last sentence. "I'll get the bill."

She realized that he had changed a lot more than what appeared on the surface. She learned more new things about him but he still had some secrets he wasn't willing to share. She wished he would open up a bit more because nobody should carry the burden of the world in his or her shoulders alone.

Stephen had brightened up as he returned to the table. He grinned. "I'm so sorry about the interrupted date. At least I was right about one thing. It's a date to remember."

Well, nobody was going to argue about _that_. She hoped future dates would be more memorable for the right reasons.

* * *

 **Notes:**

-RawringRyu's original prompt "Hey, did you know that comic Stephen isn't able to eat normal food? He has to eat weird tentacles and purple goop that looks like it belongs in lovecraft rather than his bowl in order to replenish his magic. I've seen a few works utilizing this and am wondering if it's canon in your series or if you prefer him eating normal human food as I'd imagine him going out for dinner with Christine would be a disaster or just plain weird if it were so." I hope this story answered your question in a very roundabout way with a lot of obstacles thrown into their date. This prompt actually made me research more about Stephen and I gained some weird knowledge that I wish I could use it somewhere else. You can find some of the facts here:

thrillist dot com/entertainment/nation/doctor-strange-movie-marvel-sorceror-supreme-facts

-From my research, it seems that he needed to eat some weird foods in some comics and not in some others. Not all comics also agree on the side effects. So I just did my reinterpretation. I hope I get the basic facts right. You could correct me if I get them wrong.  
-The addiction for the alliteration is from the comics. So is his history with vampires. His poor brother was turned into a vampire.  
-Thanks to KarToon12 about her idea that "I think if he gets called away one more time, I'd imagine Christine would come with him and yell at whatever monster it is and tell them their smackdown will have to wait because she's on a date, and the monster would get scared enough of her to patiently wait until they're done." I added a modified line about that.  
-I apologize for readers who expected more from their first date. I still think they need to know more about each other after being separated for a while before deciding if they want to proceed. At least they love each other, not that any one of them would admit it.

-Feedback and comments are welcome.


End file.
